Cloudburst Ice Magic Read online

  When her mind began to whimper at the continued efforts, Lily turned her thoughts to the goal of reaching the edge of the ridge and the protection of the trees. And Zach might be waiting for me there. With a hot mug of chai. She snorted with the last of her humor. And as long as we’re wishing…

  The ground steepened and she had to shift her path to a more gentle incline to allow for stable footing. Snow stung her ear where her hat didn’t cover and the wind increased in intensity. The scents of wet ferocity filled her nose and she had the sense they were running out of time. The Ice Demons here aren’t fooling around. Zach, I need you.

  She almost berated herself for the wish when her latest step gave way under her and she slid back into the avalanche chute. Lily slammed the shovel into the snow above her shoulders, praying it’d catch on something solid and keep her from dragging the others down with her. Panic roared through her, but she fought it back as something caught her hand.

  The scents of cloves and cardamom filled her nose and a shadow blocked out some of the blinding snow. Lily tilted her head to stare up into a shape looming over her, connected to the large hand wrapped around her arm. Crimson red Gore-Tex added color to her world as the man with the solid grip dragged her upright against his chest. He wore goggles to keep out the snow, but she recognized the lips mouthing words at her.

  “Oh, thank God, Zach.”

  Chapter Six

  Zach made the climb to Quicksilver Chute in record time considering he carried a pack full of extra gear and supplies for others. He tried to keep his focus on making tracks, but it would stray to Lily every time he sensed a bolt of yearning and fear from her. The emotions pushed him harder and faster than he would normally go in a whiteout blizzard.

  He’d been halfway down into the Chute when he caught sight of Lily’s brilliant purple jacket struggling through the snow and wind. When her feet slid out from under her, Zach let go of caution and glissaded down the remaining feet to where she arrested her fall with her shovel.

  “I got you, Lily. Are you all right?”

  “Oh, thank God, Zach.”

  He dragged her up against his chest and held her tight for a few moments, his world resetting to where it needed to be. Some of her golden blond hair escaped from her hat and the silky strands brushed his cheek. Her floral scent filled his nose and tension fled from his body. They’d been apart for too long and he hadn’t noticed how tight his gut had become until it loosened with her body held close.

  “You got my text.”

  “Yes. Did you get my response?” He pushed her back to meet her gray gaze through their mutual goggles. He would’ve preferred to kiss the hell out of her, but the weather made it problematic.

  She shook her head. “No. The phone died and we’ve been stuck out here overnight. How did you get here?”

  “Drove and hiked. Where are the others?”

  “Follow the rope.” She held up a yellow and red woven climbing rope, and he followed its length where it disappeared into the driving snow. “We’re all connected so we don’t get lost.”

  “Good call. Let’s get you all out of here. The Spring Fling starts at noon.”

  Lily dropped her gaze to her wrist to check the time. “Shit. That’s only a half hour from now. How do you know that for sure?”

  “I stopped by the local Ice Demon clan before I came out here. The Matriarch promised to hold everything off until twelve, but after that, we’re out of luck.” Zach wanted to lean forward and rip off her scarf so he could seal his mouth to hers in a hungry kiss, but they were out of time. “Come on. The edge of the ridge isn’t far from here.”

  “How will I keep up with you? There’s no more rope left and visibility is down to less than a couple of feet.”

  Zach nodded and unhooked a length of rope attached to two carabineers from his pack. “Clip this to your shoulder strap.” He handed her one end and clipped the other to the loops on the back panel of his pack. “Ready?”

  “Yeah. Zach.” She caught his hand before he moved away.

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks so much for coming.”

  “Anytime, princess. Let’s get moving.”

  A blast of wind and snow ripped away anything she might have said and Zach turned his attention to getting the humans out of the avalanche chute. They had no time left and while the ridge wasn’t far, it would take a fair amount of effort to reach it before noon. Zach’s Ice Demon abilities remained curtailed by his human guise, but what little leaked through allowed him to make a fairly stable path up the edge of the chute.

  He and Lily crested the ridge, and he breathed a sigh of relief. They’d made it.

  “I think we did it.”

  Lily smiled. “Yeah, we—”

  Her words cut off as a deep rumbling started upslope. Lily gasped and hauled on the rope, bringing the next person within sight through the snow.

  “Fuck! Help me, Zach. We have to get the others out of there before we’re all swept with the avalanche.”

  The next person in line was a weeping blonde woman, her strength degraded by fear and cold. She smelled of fear and candy, and her full lips appeared chapped from the wind. Where the hell is her scarf? She scrambled over the edge of the chute and crawled a few feet away, folding in on herself. Zach marked her as secure for now and focused on hauling the rest to safety. The rumbling increased and the wind picked up with scents of moving moisture.

  Lily didn’t pause as she dug her crampon heels into the ground and jerked the next figure up onto the ground. This one was male with boyish good looks, and Zach swallowed a growl as he fell on top of Lily. Fortunately, the man scrambled off to grab the cowering blonde, cradling her against his chest as he whispered to her.

  Two more people pushed over the side of the chute. One white-faced woman with tendrils of red hair escaping from her hat, and an older man with the rest of the gear needed for a rescue team. He pulled himself up and jerked his legs out of the way just in time.

  The rumble increased to a roar and they all stood back from the edge, their attention riveted to the chute below them.

  A wall of snow and ice cascaded down the valley, sweeping everything downslope in its path. Everyone just stood and watched the remarkable destruction of nature. Powerful energy bloomed in the wake of the avalanche and Zach inhaled as much as he could in his diminutive human form. He resisted the urge to shift into his true form and dance in the residual power from the slide. Damn, these guys really know how to have a good time.

  “Lily, are you all right?”

  The voice of the older man brought Zach back to himself and he clamped his jaws tight over a snarl. Now was not the time to get territorial, but Zach didn’t like the stranger’s familiarity with his woman.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks to Zach.”

  “Zach?” The older man turned and met Zach’s gaze as he peeled back his goggles. “The Zach?” A smile creased the man’s lips and he held out a hand to shake. “Great to meet you. I’m Randy Montesque, Lily’s SAR partner. She’s told me a lot about you. How did you get here?”

  Some of Zach’s possessiveness retreated with Randy’s friendly greeting. “I got Lily’s text and headed out. I knew the weather here would be rough this weekend and it wasn’t time to fool around.”

  Randy nodded, his brown eyes narrowing, but whatever thoughts passed behind his gaze, he kept them to himself. “I’m damn glad you made it when you did.” He glanced over at the swirling snow left by the avalanche. “We might not have made it out of there without your help.”

  “Not a problem. But we can’t stay here. The weather will get worse as the day gets later.”

  “We’re trying to reach a Forest Service equipment cabin to the southwest. Did you see it when you hiked in?”

  Zach shook his head. “No. I followed the ridge line until found you.”

  “I think it’s no more than a hundred and fifty meters from here.” Lily pulled out her map and Zach and Randy hunched close. She pointed to a
little green dot between the red and blue contour lines. “Zach, do you know how far you came up the ridge before you got to us?”

  “I crested this hillock.” He pointed to a small circle in the contours. “We should be right about here.” The spot gave them almost a straight shot to the cabin if they hiked directly west.

  “Thank God.” Lily pulled out her compass and took a reading. She nodded and stuffed her map in her front pocket as she rose to her feet. “Let’s get these people out of the snow.”

  “How much farther do we have to go?” Another male voice made Zach tense at the surly tone, but he chalked it up to concern for the blonde woman. “Tammy can’t take much more of this.”

  “Well, she’s gonna have to, now isn’t she?” The redheaded woman stood in front of her companions with her hands on her hips. “You were the one who wanted to go hiking this weekend, Tammy, and now we’re up here in this mess. So if you want to be safe and warm, get your ass out of the snow and let’s get to the place we can at least rest.”

  “Back off, Caroline.” The young man struggled to his feet to face off with the redhead.

  “No, Brad. She got us into this mess. Now she has to deal with it, just like we do. No one’s going to rescue her except her.” Caroline pointed at Zach. “They’re risking their lives coming out here to save us. The least you can do is make their job a little easier.”

  “Easy, everyone. Let’s just calm down.” Randy patted his hands on the air in a soothing motion. “We’re almost to our destination for today, but the weather is getting worse, so we should head out. Ms. Sinclair will lead us to the Forest Service shed and we’ll make plans from there. Our chances of survival have just increased tenfold. So let’s gather our stuff and head out.”

  Randy resecured the ropes to everyone as Brad tugged Tammy to her feet.

  Lily glanced at her compass as she studied the map and Zach sidled over to her, needing her scent in his nose. Damn, this woman is sexy. He’d known she was remarkable when he found her on Mt. Charleston, but now, working, she turned him on with just shrugging on her pack.

  “Know the way?”

  Lily bit her bottom lip and Zach had to ignore the flex of his cock with the motion. “Yeah, I think so. There isn’t much visibility, but the trees help keep some of the snow off us. We’re looking for a short wall.” She pointed to the narrow contour lines. “Looks like they built the shack right up next to the face. There might even be a road up to it. Will you hike with me and keep your eyes open for it?”

  “I think that can be arranged.” Zach wished he could get away with kissing her, but such displays weren’t professional. Later, though, I’m going to remind her she’s mine. “You said it was an equipment shack?”

  “Yeah. Sometimes they keep old chainsaws, climbing gear, and camping supplies there in case someone from the service needs them.” She scanned the snowy woods. “Usually it’s for the fire crews, but right now, it should work for us.”

  “I should be able to smell some of the items.”

  “Really?” Lily’s smile held hope.

  “Yeah. Motor oil for the chainsaws and metal smell different than snow to an Ice Demon. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Lily gave him a grin of pure mischief. “I knew I loved you for a reason.”

  “My nose?” Zach laughed.

  “Among other things.”

  Zach wanted to grab her and kiss the hell out of her, but she turned away to give Randy the plan. Zach dropped his chin to hide his grin and made sure Lily’s pack remained connected to his. A new scent intruded as he worked and he looked up to meet the gaze of Caroline.

  “Hi, I just wanted to thank you for coming all this way out here to rescue us.” She gave him a shy smile. “I didn’t think anyone knew where we were.”

  “They had a vague idea.” Zach gave her his best noncommittal smile. “Ms. Sinclair got a text out to me and I managed to get up here in time.”

  Caroline brandished her smile again. “I don’t know very much about mountain rescues, but don’t Search and Rescue people always work in pairs?”

  Zach nodded as he clipped the carabineers onto each of their packs and screwed them down tight, stalling for time. “Usually, that’s true. It’s always better to go as a team. But I happened to be closest”—while not strictly true, he could find his mate anywhere—“and already out here when she texted me. And I had an idea of where you were.” He shrugged. “I’m just glad I made it in time to help them get you out of the chute.”

  “Well, I just wanted to say thanks. Do you think we’ll get out okay?” She looked vulnerable for a moment and his primal male need to protect stepped forth.

  “I know we will. Ms. Sinclair is one of the best and now that there are three of us, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Caroline nodded and opened her mouth to say something else, but Randy’s voice calling for them to get ready interrupted. Zach caught Lily’s eye and gave her a smile, but she didn’t respond as she picked up the rope and tied the end around her waist.

  “Ready to move out?” Zach held her pack as she fit her arms through the straps.

  “Yep.” Her tone made him pause, but her scarf covered her face and hid her expression. “You’re walking with me and the others will follow. Randy will bring up the rear.”

  “Good. Lead the way, Sinclair.”

  Lily nodded sharply and strode off through the snowy woods. Zach followed her, sensing anger from her in her stiff movements, but he couldn’t find a reason for them. Most likely it’s the stress of the situation. Everyone’s frustration ran high during these kinds of events and until they reached safety, it would be easy to lose equanimity.

  The others trailed after Zach and his shoulder blades itched with the sense of someone’s attention, but he kept his focus on his mate as she led the way. The wind howled through the trees and the branches creaked overhead. The snow kissed his cheeks and he wanted to dance and celebrate with his demonkin, but it would have to wait until he and Lily found some moments alone.

  Then he’d show his mate what made a true celebration.

  Chapter Seven

  Lily’s anger and frustration warmed her more than the exertion of plowing a trail through the snow to the Forest Service shed. How could he? A little over a year apart, and the minute Zach feasted his eyes on the flirty redhead, he turned into every posturing male out there. Lily resisted the urge to waste her precious energy on stomping through the knee-high drifts of heavy, wet snow.

  She’s not even aware of what he is and was dumb enough to come out in a spring storm. Lily clenched her jaw as she picked her way closer to where she hoped the Forest Service equipment shed sat. It would add insult to injury if they missed it because she let her anger get the better of her.

  What the hell is wrong with me? Her logical mind tried to insert some calm into the morass of her churning emotion, but the primal part inside snarled and roared at the intruder encroaching on her male. He’s mine. Her fists closed inside her gloves and she pushed her body harder.

  He’d said they were mates, true mates, back when he pulled her out of her depression. What the fuck? Lily forced herself to calm down, taking a steadying breath. It was over a year ago. My memory might be a bit skewed. But it didn’t assuage her anger and she pushed on doggedly.

  She almost swung at Zach when he touched her shoulder to get her attention, but played the motion of as if she’d lost her footing.

  “Whoa. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She gave a short nod, trying to ignore how good it felt to connect with him. “Thanks. Did you see anything?”

  “Not yet, but the smell of used oil is coming from up ahead and a little to the right of our path.”

  Lily scanned the winter world around them, but everything looked about the same in the snow flurries. She pulled out the map and tried to gauge where they were based on slope angle. “Do you think we’ve come down too far?”

  “No. I think we just need to angle a little to the r
ight and we’ll run into it.”

  “Why don’t you take the lead? We can’t afford to miss it for anything as stupid as ego.”

  Zach cocked his head, but stepped around her to lead them on. Irritation roared its protest at looking weak to her competition, but when it came to life and death in the snow, Lily admitted she’d rather survive embarrassed. She shook her head. I’m not competing…am I?

  Her back itched from the awareness of the redhead behind her, but she grimly forced her focus ahead to the trail. Zach’s broad back and tight ass made for a much more pleasant view, and his measured strides lulled her into a relaxed state. Her anger faded into the background and she followed her mate with contentment.

  Whoa. Hold the phone. Mate? She wasn’t an Ice Demon. And the jury’s still out after he started sniffing around Ms. Benedict.

  Lily’s anger returned just as they trudged around a small ridge. The Forest Service equipment shack loomed out of the snowy murk, and her thoughts shifted away.

  “Oh, thank God.” Lily caught the relieved remark from Caroline just as the woman stumbled closer to the door—and Zach. “Thank God you found it, Zach.”

  Lily swallowed a snarl. The woman fawned over Lily’s boyfriend and it didn’t help that he’d saved the day. Especially since that’s his job. Dammit.

  “I wouldn’t have gotten close without Ms. Sinclair’s knowledge.” Zach snapped the padlock off the door and shoved it open. “Let’s get everyone inside.”

  Lily waited outside while the others shuffled through the doorway after Zach. The scents of old oil and dusty metal hit her nose as the wind stirred the interior. Randy nodded to her as he passed, pulling out a flashlight to illuminate the darkness. The room held old parts of a jeep, a few chainsaws, and a chemical cabinet for oil and paint. An old woodstove squatted in the corner near a grungy window and a small pile of wood sat beside it. It wouldn’t last days, but it would be enough for a night or two.